Saturday, November 30, 2013

Gold on GalenaSpecimen #228 in the Denver Museum of Nature and Sciencehas tiny crystals of gold on cubic crystals of galena.It was mined in the Central City District of Gilpin County, Colorado.

Denver Museum of Nature and Science Photo of Gregory Gulch

Gregory Gulch is the site of Colorado's first gold lode strike.The diggings are located on North Clear Creekbetween Black Hawk and Central Cityin Gilpin County, Colorado.The largest gold rush in American history

brought a major influx of people into Colorado in 1859 when Colorado was still part of the Kansas Territory.The rapid growth in population led to the establishment of the Colorado Territory in 1861and to the formation of the U.S. state of Colorado in 1876.

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Earlier this week I hit 800 milesor 1287.5 kilometers of walking!On day 529 of walking in a row!St. Anthony, Newfoundland is still a long way off,but I'll get there, one step at a time.

St. Anthony, Newfoundland

When I last updated you on my imaginary walk to St. Anthony,I was at 640 mileswhich put me at the Maple Leaf Lake Conservation Areaabout 44 miles into Missouri.160 miles more, and I am getting closer to the eastern border of the state.800 miles from my doorstep puts me between Foristell and Wentzville, on the outskirts of St. Charles, Missouri.

But for me the world darkened.People remember JFK for many reasons, butI remember him for hope and optimism.I remember him for bringing us backfrom the brink of nuclear war.President Kennedy challenged us to ask what we could do for our countryto reach for the moon, and to stand for freedom and justice for all.Nuclear disarmament, service, space, and civil rightscaptured my imagination because of JKF and have inspired many things I have done in my life.

"We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

It is for these reasons that I regard the decision last year to shift our efforts in space from low to high gear as among the most important decisions that will be made during my incumbency in the office of the Presidency."

"We are confronted primarily with a moral issue.... It is as old as the scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution.... One hundred years of delay have passed since President Lincoln freed the slaves, yet their heirs... are not fully free. They are not yet freed from the bonds of injustice... this Nation... will not be fully free until all its citizens are free.... Now the time has come for this Nation to fulfill its promise."